In the history of iconic office buildings, New York City’s Empire State Building stands tall. Constructed in 1930, the 1,454-foot behemoth continues to defy gravity and tourist expectations – thanks in part toongoing preservation and restorationinvestments to keep it running like never before. The latest facelift (unveiled last night with help from Grammy-award winning singer Alicia Keys) comes in the form of a cutting-edge LED lighting system, provided by Philips Color Kinetics (PCK).

The state-of-the-art dynamic lighting system from PCK is unique to Empire State Building and allows customized light capabilities from a palette of over 16 million colors in limitless combinations along with effects previously not possible such as ripples, cross-fades, sparkles, chasers, sweeps, strobes and bursts. In addition to greater control and management of the lighting, the new computerized system will deliver superior light and vibrancy levels in real-time, unlike the previous floodlights.

And here’s what Anthony E. Malkin, whose company supervises the Empire State Building had to say:

The Empire State Building’s lights are the international icon of the New York City skyline. We use our tower lights to partner with select charities, organizations, and events around the world. Philips Color Kinetics’ new LED lights were installed over the summer and have been set at the color and intensity of the incandescent lights they replaced. As of tonight, our lights’ full range and intensity will be brought to life, forever changing the New York skyline.

Change isn’t the only familiar face in the “city that never sleeps” and the “concrete jungle where dreams are made of.” It’s also a regular occurrence at Philips as they must continuously innovate and bring new products to market faster and more efficiently than competitors. Learn how Philips uses SAP’s Product Lifecycle Management to run betterin this video interviewwith Michael Stevens, a business process manager for innovation at Philips Lighting Electronics.